Cross Alps Tour was a total success for Elan

01. Jul, 2017
Written by: Sir Tom Testington

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We've seen quite a show at the Cross Alps Skicross tour in December! The exhausting tour started on December 7th, when the skicross elite gathered for the first time this year. Elan walked on to the scene with a Skicross team »par excellence«, leading the pack are Brady Leman, the Canadian powerhouse, the »rookie« Kevin Drury and the ever loud Filip Flisar. Even though we respect the »ladies first« mentality, we thought that Kelsey Serwa should come as a cherry on top with her everlasting enthusiasm.

Cross Alps tour was a success for Elan

The Cross Alps tour was an exhilirating test fort he racers – 14 days of non-stop racing. The tour started with two races in Val Thorens, France (December 8-10), followed by a night race in Arosa, Switzerland (December 12-13), Montafon, Austria (December 15-17) and finally Innichen, Italy (December 20-22).

Elan's skicross team made quite an impact on the tour with Filip Flisar claiming two wins in a row in Innichen and Brady Leman two second places in Val Thorens and Arosa.

Race venue #1 - Val Thorens (France)

Val Thorens was the first indicator of form in this racing season and we saw Elan's racers starting quite conservatively on the first day of racing. Here's how Elan's athletes finished the first race:

Venue #4 – Innichen (Italy)

We can honestly say that Innichen was the place where it all came together. We missed Kelsey Serwa out there, but the super icy race course could just make things worse for her knee, so she travelled back to Canada to get in shape for races in January. With Kelsey away, it was Anastasiia Chirtcova's turn to show what she's capable of and she finished on 6. place on day one and 14. place on day two, well defending green colors on the track!

Now let's head over to the big boy's races …

The loudest guy out there, Filip Flisar was getting a bit frustrated with his results, as he knew he is physically and mentally prepared for the podium, but somehow he couldn't find his speed in the first three races of the season. In Innichen it all came together for him … even after the first day of qualifications he was ultra-confident about his speed and he proved that in the race as well with two wins in 24 hours. How cool is that?

Must been the race of my life!”

Total dominance at Innichen by Filip Flisar, who proved that he's in top form this season, but just needed a little kick-start.

With a spectacular comeback in 1/8 Finals of day one, where he catapulted himself from 4. to 2. place, it was smooth sailing from there on, winning the final comfortably. And day two? It was total dominance for Filisar, winning every single heat in the race.

And the rest of the green pack? We saw a great team result, first day of racing saw three Elan racers in top 10 and second day 8 Elan riders got results in the race.

An overview of all four races in the Cross Alps tour shows that Elan's Skicross team is getting stronger every race, claiming four podium finishes (Flisar 2x 1st place, Leman 2x 2nd place) and several top 10 results and ladies are running strong as well. Hopefully we'll see Kelsey Serwa getting her revenge in January, as she's in top form this year as well.

I was never one to reminisce much about my memories and past successes. Actually, I don’t think about them at all and have already forgotten many. I feel that living in the past has no meaning. Resting on old laurels is nothing more than resting. Today it’s 2018 and all these things took place in the seventies and eighties of the past century. It was all so long ago that both a century and a millennium have turned since then.

Ski mountaineering is a lonely undertaking. Perhaps that is why I enjoy spending time on snow with my wife, kids and friends that much more. At the end of March, we took a trip to mount Peca. It was a magical day.

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